Which Way You Goin', Billy?

The Poppy Family were the Canadian duo of Terry and Susan Jacks, who were husband and wife at the time. Terry Jacks, who four years later would release the ubiquitous "Seasons in the Sun," wrote the song whilst Susan sang lead. Terry was a big Buddy Holly fan, and started writing the song in his pre-Poppy days with the working title "Which Way You Goin' Buddy?" He had the melody, but couldn't come up with a lyrical theme. A few years later, after he formed The Poppy Family, he hit on the idea. In our interview with Terry Jacks, he explained: "It was in 1969 and I had been reading about all these guys going to Vietnam and leaving their women behind in Seattle, and I knew somebody down there that was doing that. I thought, 'Wow, that must be awful.' These guys go and their wives or girlfriends wouldn't know whether they were coming back. That's quite a deal, going to war over there, and it was such a stupid war. So I said, 'That's what I'm going to write about: this woman that's left behind. Which way you going, Billy? Can I go, too?'"

Terry Jacks decided to name the lead character in this song "Billy" after hearing a song "Billy, Billy Went A Walkin'" by one of his favorite acts, a Montreal group called The Beau Marks. Jacks thought the name was a good fit. He told us: "I used the name Billy, because you've got to use a name that isn't going to stick out like a sore thumb. You can't do, 'Which way you goin', Lawrence.' Lots of people are called Billy, and it's a name that doesn't rub you wrong or anything."

Romantic couples who make music together rarely stay romantic for long, especially when the producer husband tries to coax a better vocal out of the singer wife. When Susan did her vocal for this song, Terry thought it was perfect... too perfect. The couple, who were married from 1967-1973, argued over whether or not she should redo her vocal, and Terry convinced her to give it another try. "The next day we went in and she did it first take," he said. "She was so tired and she was so worn out, she captured the feel. It fit the song. The other performance was too happy."